Was a bad toss to lose, says Dhoni

OUR BUREAU

Calcutta: Losing the toss, according to Chennai Super Kings captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was the reason behind their loss to Kolkata Knight Riders here on Tuesday.

“It was a bad toss to lose. The wicket became slightly better to bat on in the second innings. It’s not that we bowled badly. Opportunities were definitely created by the bowlers but the fielders could not take it,” said the Chennai Super Kings captain after the eight-wicket loss.

Coach Stephen Fleming echoed similar sentiments. “It was a bad day in office. We played poorly. A score of 154 wasn’t bad on this wicket, but we bowled and fielded poorly. We dropped key catches,” said Fleming.

“The Knight Riders batted well and we let them into the match in the first few overs. We let them get a firm grip by dropping catches.”

Fleming felt they didn’t err by picking only two specialist spinners and three pacers on this wicket. “The ball was nipping around enough. The guys couldn’t make use of it…

“The balance was right but we didn’t execute it well enough. Moreover, the last wicket stand between Manish Pandey and Robin Uthappa killed us…”

Fleming didn’t wish to pinpoint anyone for the fielding lapses.

“We are a good fielding unit. Such dropped chances can happen… Sometimes the ball follows certain people and sometimes catches can go down in the slips.”